Desserts · Germany

Black Forest Cake

Name: Black Forest Cake
Total time: 180 min
Cuisine: Germany
Ingredients: 4 oz (100 g) butter; 8 oz (225 g) brown sugar; 4 oz (100 g) plain chocolate; 7 oz (200 g) self-raising flour; ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon; ¼ pint sour cream; 3 tablespoons strong cold black coffee; 2 eggs; 1 pinch of salt; 4 oz (100 g) cream flour; 1 pinch of salt; 2 oz (50 g) icing sugar; 2 oz (50 g) Irish butter; 1 egg yolk; a few drops of vanilla essence; 1 pint cream; 1 tin (1 lb) black cherries; 4 tablespoons black cherry jam; brandy or cherry juice; 4 oz (100 g) grated chocolate

Black Forest Cake, sometimes called by the French gateau, gateaux or gâteau (meaning "cake"), is a chocolate cake with a strong cherry element. The recipe originates from Germany, where it is called Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte.

Published October 16, 2026

EST. TOTAL TIME3h

DIFFICULTYMedium

SERVESSee recipe

Time and difficulty are editorial estimates; allow extra time for your equipment and experience.

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What you’ll need

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Let’s make it

Step 1

Cream the butter and sugar together well.

Step 2

Melt the chocolate and beat into the creamed mixture, then beat in the eggs.

Step 3

Sift flour, salt and cinnamon together.

Step 4

Fold the dry mix lightly into the liquids, then fold in the sour cream and cold coffee.

Step 5

Pour the mixture into a lined and greased 9-inch round, deep cake tin, and bake for 1 hour and 25 minutes.

Step 6

Set to cool on a wire rack.

Step 7

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and bind until the mixture stiffens.

Step 8

Roll the pastry onto a floured board worktable until pastry is about the same size as the base of the cake tin.

Step 9

Lay out on baking sheet and bake for 20–25 minutes at 350°F, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Step 10

Whip cream until it holds its shape.

Step 11

Put some whipped cream into pastry piping bag with a star tip attached, and reserve this for the decoration.

Step 12

Slice the cake horizontally into 3 equal-sized layers.

Step 13

Drain the cherries, reserve 8 for decoration and remove the stones from the remainder.

Step 14

Put pastry on serving plate and spread the pastry with black cherry jam.

Step 15

Soak the cakes with brandy or cherry juice.

Step 16

Put one layer of cake on top of coated pastry.

Step 17

Spread a layer of cream on the cake, and top with half the stoned cherries.

Step 18

Add the second layer of cake, then another layer of cream and cherries.

Step 19

Top with the final layer of the cake.

Step 20

Cover the entire cake with the remaining cream, and press on the grated chocolate.

Step 21

Decorate the top with piped rosettes of cream and the reserved whole black cherries.

Black Forest Cake

What you’ll need

Let’s make it

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